Many medical imaging modalities currently exist. These imaging modalities include x-ray fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and a host of others that are known in the art. Each of these imaging modalities has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. For example, MRI utilizes a relatively benign radio-frequency (RF), as compared to x-ray imaging which emits ionizing radiation. However, when compared to x-ray imaging equipment, MRI equipment is quite costly. Hence, the cost of obtaining an MRI is greater than the cost of obtaining an x-ray.
In conventional fluoroscopy, which is well known in the art, ionizing radiation passes through the body onto a fluorescent screen, creating an image. Fluoroscopy is often used to trace contrast media as it passes through the body. Often, moving x-ray images from fluoroscopy can be captured to film or video, thereby allowing for time-resolution of the fluoroscopic images. Conventional fluoroscopy is routinely used to analyze the human skeletal joints during motions such as deep knee bends. Such diagnostics have been used to characterize pre and post operative arthoplasty issues, particularly in association with total joint replacement procedures. The pseudo-stationary conditions imposed by the fixed fluoroscope limit the diagnostic procedures to much less than natural skeletal motion and load conditions, thus reducing the utility of the results.
While such imaging modalities have become powerful diagnostic tools, there are still many limitations associated with these imaging modalities. For example, conventional fluoroscopy does not allow selected joints to be x-rayed while the human subjects perform natural motions, such as walking, under loaded conditions. This disclosure seeks to address some of those limitations.